Ravens talk contract with Flacco, Caldwell stresses Joe is no Peyton

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 14, 2012, 2:47 PM EDT

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The Ravens want to work out a long-term deal with quarterback Joe Flacco, but their new quarterbacks coach wants to make it clear that he can’t turn water into wine and he can’t turn Flacco into Peyton Manning.

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports that the Ravens and Flacco’s agent are planning to get together during the Scouting Combine to begin work on a long-term contract extension for Flacco. So the team sounds committed to Flacco for the long run, just as Flacco has said he wants to be the quarterback in Baltimore for years to come.

New Ravens quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, however, had some interesting comments to the team’s web site in which he cautioned that no one should expect Flacco to morph into Manning just because Caldwell, who coached Manning for a decade in Indianapolis, is now coaching Flacco.

Caldwell wasn’t criticizing Flacco with those comments, just stating the reality that Flacco is who he is, and that while Caldwell may be able to help Flacco improve, Caldwell can’t turn Flacco into a totally different quarterback. If the Ravens are talking to Flacco about a long-term deal, they’re apparently satisfied that he’s a good enough quarterback as it is.

Can’t say I’m surprised that both sides are looking to extend a contract. Flacco is not perfect but it’s hard to argue that he is a solid option moving forward. Franchise QBs don’t grow on trees and Flacco should improve with a full off-season to work with his young pass catchers. People tend to forget he was throwing to mostly inexperienced players; a rookie (Smith), and two 2nd year TEs (Pitta and Dickson) that were getting their first real playing time in the NFL.

Again, the jab at the end “apparently” he’s good enough…..best record in the last four years, 2 AFC championship games…..pretty damn good. I challenge you to name another QB to reach 2 AFC championship games in his first 4 years…..

jessieboom says:Feb 14, 2012 2:56 PM

First order of business for Caldwell is to shave Flacco’s migrated unibrow.

rmm1984 says:Feb 14, 2012 2:57 PM

Joe Flacco is Mark Sanchez + Ray Rice. Seriously, look at their numbers and what Rice has done; they are very similar.

marvsleezy says:Feb 14, 2012 2:58 PM

Youre not like Peyton, Peyton required no coaching, I just stood around and asked him about the weather, then on Sundays his hard work that he did on his own paid off.

Wow, is that headline ever misleading. He doesn’t directly say that “Joe is no Peyton”, he’s just saying they’re different QB’s that need to be coached to their strengths.

cali49er707 says:Feb 14, 2012 3:05 PM

Hes no Peyton and u are no Tony Dungy

st1llerz1 says:Feb 14, 2012 3:10 PM

For the love of God, please hurry up and sign Joe Flacco to a long term contract and pay him like the franchise quarterback he obviously has become. Haven’t you heard all those voices out there proclaiming him an elite quarterback that deserves respect and a paycheck befitting his status in the NFL.

I like how people use words like “mediocrity” when talking about Joe Flacco. Look at his stats over the first four years and go compare them to Brady’s. And, Flacco’s stats are almost identical to his draftmate Matt Ryan’s (who people seem to think is exceptional), all the while Flacco has actual won in the playoffs. Five times.

If Lee Evans holds onto the football who knows how Flacco is viewed in Baltimore and the National media.

yyyass says:Feb 14, 2012 3:28 PM

Flacco runs plays. The top QBs in the NFL MAKE plays. The top QBs see the play when they approach the line and audible -CORRECTLY. He just runs the call and whatever happens, happens. He’s a joke on the QB sneak or draw. He’s fine when all the pass protection works AND the receivers get massively open, but no one fears him when he’s flushed or pressure, unlike the top QBs who turn those situations in to opportunities for gain and downs. Because he runs the clean stuff reliably and doesn’t throw a lot of pics it helps cancel out the utter lack of playmaking and poor decision making under pressure. It makes him what he is -an average QB who is only better than Sanchez when pressured. Caldwell and Cameron need to put him in the shotgun or roll him out because he can’t think and drop back at the same time. Use his height and his arm, not his brain and his legs – oh, and pray the defense continues to carry the team as it has done Flacco’s entire tenure.

tyler200829 says:
Feb 14, 2012 2:56 PM
Again, the jab at the end “apparently” he’s good enough…..best record in the last four years, 2 AFC championship games…..pretty damn good. I challenge you to name another QB to reach 2 AFC championship games in his first 4 years…..
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Roethlisberger went to the AFC Championship in each of his first two years….and then a 3rd in his fifth year. So if Flacco somehow manages to get to the AFC Championship this year then he’ll tie Roethlisberger for 3 in 5 years.

cali49er707 says:Feb 14, 2012 3:31 PM

if he only had a handle for the qb position like the handlebars on his face.WOW that stache is awesome,give that man a contract in porn

Oh, you mean like Steve Young was no Joe Montana? Until he had a Hall of Fame career right? Look, NOBODY is saying Flacco will ever be as good as Peyton. That’s dumb. It takes YEARS to be as refined as a Manning, Brady, and Brees. This guy, under an enormous amount of pressure and criticism, has excelled more and more each year. He has the propensity to have a stinker twice a year on national t.v., but that’s what young quarterbacks do. He doesn’t have to ever be Manning. He has to be the best Joe Flacco. Which the last two years has been very good in the playoffs, only to be let down by receivers.

Comparing Flacco to Ryan is pretty stupid, they play different styles for different teams. Imagine if Ryan was in Baltimore and Flacco was in Atlanta? Not sure where Baltimore would be, but Atlanta would definitely be worse

jacklambert58 says:Feb 14, 2012 3:37 PM

@tyler200829 – Big Ben did, and he actually won a superbowl in his 2nd yr…

What did Caldwell say that was wrong? It is unfair to compare Flacco to Manning. Manning is probably the greatest regular season QB to play the game. Flacco already has more playoff wins in his first 4 years than Manning had in his first 8.

Joe is a good QB on his own. He deserves to be paid like the tier below the best. The best includes the Manning brothers, Brees, Rodgers, Ben. He belongs in the next group of really good QBs who have yet to win a SB.

@yasss – did you watch him play? If not for dropped passes that should have been caught we would have been in the AFC championship last year and would have been in the SB this year. Joe Flacco has done everything that this team has asked of him. To put Sanchez in the same zipcode let alone same sentence as Flacco is plain stupid.

Joe will get his extension. If the cards play out right one of these days he will go to and probably win a SB. Let’s remember, there were a lot of talking heads that thought eli manning was a bust and that the chargers got the better end of the trade. well, rivers and eli are have both completed year 8 of their career and I’d bet that not one talking head would take Rivers over Eli at this point. But it took Eli a good 5 – 6 years to really mature. Joe is about to start year #5. He has made and won playoff games in every year of his career. There are few qbs that have that distinction. Many of you will want to say that the wins were despite him, but the bottom line is that the QB gets the credit and the blame. And he gets the credit for being in the AFC championship twice in his 4 year career. So has Sanchize, but I’d bet you that Rex Ryan would take Flacco over Sanchez in a NY minute as would most of the NY fans.

Here in Bmore we are happy with Joe and frankly don’t give a crap about what the rest of the NFL thinks.

Please, hopefully Flacco will do like every other QB he has “coached” and IGNORE HIM. This guy has no added value whatsoever.

The Ravens offense is sadly going to be a mess next year. They don’t dump Cameron and then they get Caldwell (the born loser). The Ravens seriously need another back to compliment Rice. Rice is good but he is NOT great. He is definitely no Jamal Lewis. Ravens need a Peyton Hillis-type back.

hooterdawg says:Feb 14, 2012 4:03 PM

Flacco makes a perfect throw to Evans, and the defender is given credit for knocking the ball loose. Brady makes an inaccurate throw to an open Welker, and Welker gets blamed for missing the catch. It helps to have Tom Terrific as a nickname.

ppdoc13 says:Feb 14, 2012 4:08 PM

@wiky888 – it’s a HUGE stretch making the comment you made. Ryan had the offense tailored to him from jump street.

Flacco still has no receivers of the caliber of Roddy White or Julius Jones. Torrey Smith MIGHT get there some day but there is no guarantee. Todd Heap was a very good TE, but he was never in the class of Tony G. and the Falcons built an offensive line to protect Ryan which the Ravens really did not do.

Their stats are almost identical except for the fact that Ryan has YET to WIN a playoff game and Flacco has won a bunch of them. Ryan pissed down his leg in the 2 playoff games he has been in while Flacco had the AFC championship won but for an easy dropped pass by Lee Evans. Flacco has gotten better and better every year esp in the playoffs while Ryan started out as a finished product from BC.

Joe Flacco vs Matt Ryan will always be an interesting subject considering that they were both drafted in the same year. But give me the choice and I am taking Flacco. And that doesn’t have to do with being a Bmore fan. I have no problems admitting that I would rather have Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers than Joe. But when you are comparing him to Matty Ice (what a bogus name) I’ll take Flacco every time. He is cooler under pressure and he has a much higher ceiling than Ryan does. His arm strength is also superior to Ryans. He does not read defenses as well, but is less likely to make a really bad pick at a really bad time which Ryan has shown the propensity to do.

I’ll take Joe. You keep ryan.

ppdoc13 says:Feb 14, 2012 4:20 PM

btw people – it was 9 years before Peyton won his only SB. It took until his 9th year before he was a .500 playoff QB. Joe Flacco is 6 – 4 in his playoff career. Peyton didn’t win his 6th playoff game until the Colts went on a run in 2006 which was his 9th year in the league.

I am not at all trying to say the Joe Flacco is a better QB than Peyton Manning. He is not and likely never will be. But he does not get the credit that he is due for what he has done. For some reason, he doesn’t get a fair shake from the media, either local or national although the local media typically is good to him with the exception of Mike Preston and he is a douche bag to everyone.

Flacco is an above average QB at best. He wins games in the playoffs b/c of his team, not b/c of just himself.

He was ranked 18th in QB rating last year. At an extremely average rating of 80.9, thus proving everyone who agrees with me. There is clear validation that he shouldn’t be acknowledged as anything else but above average.

20 TD’s to 12 INT is not Franchise QB #’s, idc if you don’t have any great recievers. It’s just not.
Ravens fans I’m impartial to your team, so I don’t care either way. But quit being so stupid and defending him, you could get someone better in this years draft, next years draft, etc..

ppdoc13 says:Feb 14, 2012 4:22 PM

@steelcurtains – I don’t know of anyone even in Bmore that thinks Joe is a better QB than Ben. But he did beat Ben twice this year and the second game was in Pigsburg and came down to a drive to win at the end of the game. So give the man credit. He isn’t Ben, but he was good enough to beat you all twice this year and more importantly he doesn’t rape college women.

CKL says:Feb 14, 2012 4:25 PM

ud1hens says:
Feb 14, 2012 3:28 PM
If Lee Evans holds onto the football who knows how Flacco is viewed in Baltimore and the National media.
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If they view him differently because Sterling Moore made a great play, they are dumb.
Flacco played pretty well in that game and wasn’t a source of blame for the loss. And against the Pats in their last playoff game, he was terrible and wasn’t close to a reason they won. Sometimes he plays well and they lose, sometimes he doesn’t play well and they win, etc. etc. Just like other QBs.

This is why W-L records belong only to FRANCHISES/HEAD COACHES and not QBs. They don’t play an individual game like golf. Anytime someone says a QB has a W-L record, I tune ’em out.

I also hate the constant bleating that PM was never coached and/or shouldn’t be. It’s dumb and untrue.

rushmatic says:Feb 14, 2012 4:28 PM

ud1hens says:
If Lee Evans holds onto the football who knows how Flacco is viewed in Baltimore and the National media.

____________________

If Gronkowski holds onto the ball down the seam in that same game, it’s game over for you and for Lee Evans’ what-if scenarios.

Wow. I don’t care if he was the quarterbacks coach. He did not make Peyton. I dislike this guy even more now.

steelersarewhatfootballisabout says:Feb 14, 2012 4:43 PM

tyler200829
Big Ben was in 3 AFC Championship games in his first 4 years and has 2 Superbowl wins to show for it. You said you challenged anyone to point out somebody that did 2 AFC Championships his first 4 years. Well, Ben not only statistically meets that challenge, but he trumps it.

It’s too bad people don’t read the articles and start pounding away in these comments sections after reading the headline. Another entry on this site where comments are taken out of context to fabricate controversy during a slow news cycle. Let’s see if this gets blocked. Usually does when you critize the writers or writing.

The whole Flacco debate is getting old. No matter what Flacco does, he will always be viewed by a lot of people as being average at best. I guarantee you that if Flacco threw for 4,000 35td’s, 6int’s, and led the Ravens to a Superbowl win winning Superbowl MVP he STILL will not be considered good by MANY people out here. It is what it is. As long as the Ravens keep making the playoffs, and putting themselves in position to win Superbowls with Joe..I could care less what anyone else thinks.

Can we also stop saying that the Ravens win b/c of their defense. This isn’t 2000.

steelersarewhatfootballisabout says:Feb 14, 2012 4:53 PM

The accusations about Ben’s actions off the field are really, really immature and lame at this point. Do I agree with his alleged behaviors off the field prior to this season and prior to him getting married during the lockout? Absolutely not! But Ray Lewis, even though he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, admits he has to face it every day about his past initial charge of murder that was whittled down to obstruction of justice for the incident in Atlanta back in ’00. And the obstruction of justice charge was in exchange for testifying against the 2 men that initially were grouped into the murder charge along with him. He admitted he gave a misleading statement to police.

Joe Montana was no Peyton. Unitas was different from Peyton. Randall Cunningham was different than Peyton.

And so is Joe Flacco. He said he wasn’t going to turn Flacco into Manning — meaning, not making Flacco an on-field Offensive Coordinator. Well, alright. Fine.

rmm1984 says:
Feb 14, 2012 2:57 PM
Joe Flacco is Mark Sanchez + Ray Rice. Seriously, look at their numbers and what Rice has done; they are very similar.

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And look at the way Flacco leads BAL to the playoffs every year; the way he was perfect on several clutch game-ending drives (PIT, the AFC Championship drive), the way he out-played Brady in a Championship game…Sanchez, meanwhile, has proven to be incapable of leadership and his team’s greatest on-field liability.

Geez, lay off Caldwell’s comments. Sounds to me like he’s just saying each quarterback is different and he coaches to their strengths. If he had left Peyton Manning out of the sentence and just said “I’m not trying to make him like any other quarterback in this league, or Brad Johnson or the other guys I’ve coached,” he would be saying exactly the same thing but the reaction would be completely different.

ppdoc13 says:
Feb 14, 2012 4:22 PM
@steelcurtains – I don’t know of anyone even in Bmore that thinks Joe is a better QB than Ben. But he did beat Ben twice this year and the second game was in Pigsburg and came down to a drive to win at the end of the game. So give the man credit. He isn’t Ben, but he was good enough to beat you all twice this year and more importantly he doesn’t rape college women.
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I was responding to the other guy that said he dared anyone to name another QB that went to the AFC Championship twice in his first 4 seasons….so I did that.

And he didn’t beat Ben this year…he beat our defense. I don’t recall seeing Ben and Flacco on the field at the same time.

If you knew anything other than what you want to believe, you’d know that the police never used the word “rape” and when they flat-out asked the girl if she was “raped” she answered “no”. So that’s getting really old…..

flaccodelic says:Feb 14, 2012 5:43 PM

donterrelli says: Feb 14, 2012 2:51 PM

that will only guarantee more years of mediocrity.

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If by mediocrity you mean advancing through the first round of the playoffs every year and making the conference championship two out of our rookie QB’s first four years, then I think you’re on to something.

reed20ravens says:Feb 14, 2012 5:44 PM

Flacco has both the tangibles and the intangibles, however, he has not been performing up to the standards of the Ravens nor himself consistently. He will be a very good QB.

@maryjbiznatch uhh, what do u mean he hasn’t directly coached peyton or johnson? In 2001 he was QB coach for tampa and 2002-2008 he was QB coach for colts. Is the QB coach not directly coaching the QB?

Any steeler fan that talks crap on flacco is a moron.
Who led a game winning drive and threw the game winning pass in Pittsburgh two years in a row? Seriously. Wake up. Flacco isnt some ridiculously amazing qb, but he is also well beyond just serviceable.

I’m a Raven fan but not necessarily a Flacco fan. I would take Ryan over Joe any day. Everybody that defends Flacco says that all he does is win and that’s true. But what they never mention is that in his 4 years he’s had a top 5 defense to save his behind. His supporters never mention that variable. Ryan has never been afforded that luxury. I have about 10 heart attacks every game screaming at this dude to get rid of the ball. My dog thinks I’m crazy. He won’t step up in the pocket. He fumbles like Tony Banks. He’s just not polished and I don’t think he ever will be. He’s not horrible. He’s OK. Definitely better than the other QB’s we’ve had. This was the first year that he played decent in the playoffs. I’d give the guy an extension but I wouldn’t make him one of the top payed QBs. Actually I would let him play out his contract and pay Rice. We will see if he’s a top QB after they play next years first place schedule. If he steps into that elite class and gets the Ravens deep into the playoffs then I’d pay him big money. If not peace out.

Baltimore’s defense has allowed Flacco to reach the championship game two out of four. Certainly nothing he has done, but manage the team. Face it, Flacco is just an average Joe (Wow, that was pretty good if I say so myself).

When you are as listless as he is as a leader, what player can get fired up with a guy who plays like he has no passion for the game. Flacco has about as much leadership ability as a mime.

It blows my mind how much hate Flacco gets. I mean if he is absolutely mediocre, as in he is at best average what does that say about the rest of the team? The rest of the team must be pound for pound head and shoulders above all other teams right? Wrong. The Ravens as a team are good, including Flacco. There is a reason they are in the mix every year since Flacco started, and it’s not because he is mediocre.

Poll: Is there even a remote possibility that Peyton Manning (assuming he goes elsewhere than Indy), join the Baltimore Ravens and they let Flacco walk? I don’t personally care, just curious what people think (thumbs up for yes, down for no).

I could see it happening, though it would certainly be surprising to say the least.

What did Caldwell say that was controversial? I get that the headline was a little controversial, but he didn’t write the headline.

Steeler's Will says:Feb 15, 2012 7:38 AM

Fans flexing their QB’s ITT. Joe Flacco is as good as his supporting cast, like most QB’s. A few have one or more intangibles that MAY be the difference maker on game day (i.e. Tebow to Jesus FTW). It’s not like the Ravens are dragging Joe with them into the AFC championship, he’s more than doing his part. Joe will have his day as long as the Ravens continue to put out a good competetive football team.

qj1984 says:Feb 15, 2012 9:04 AM

It is always interesting to see the double standard that is applied to Flacco in relation to other QB’s. No matter what this guy does, people refuse to admit that he’s better than they think. For the last two years he’s been on a crusade answering all his critics and they just find new stuff to throw his way.

1) He can’t win at Heinz field. Did that in 2009…

2) He stinks in the playoffs can’t. Had his best postseason game vs. the Chiefs.

3) He can’t beat the Steelers with all their starters. Open day didn’t just beat them he crushed them with all their starters.

4) So, I bet he can’t do it Heinz field. Did it at Heinz field in dramatic fashion.

5) The Bengals really have the Ravens number under Flacco. Flacco sweeps

6) Flacco can’t win that division because the defenses are to good. Not only won the division but swept it

7) Flacco is terrible in the post season. Flacco goes out and has his best postseason of his young career.

Now its is season stats were not good enough and he hasn’t won a Superbowl. His season stats were good enough, he had 12 wins. But he’ll go out and throw for 26-30 tds next year and have a great QBR and there will be some other knock hanging over him by the haters.